This invention relates to anti-theft mounting apparatus for mobile audio components and more particularly to apparatus enabling audio components to be removably mounted in dashboard locations in such manner that the same may be readily removed by the user when the vehicle is to be left unattended.
The proliferation of high quality audio systems for use in automobiles and the like, as provided both by automobile manufacturers and "after market" sources, coupled with the desire of many individuals to have high quality audio systems in their vehicles has made the problem of theft of car radios and other mobile audio components rampant. In fact, it is not uncommon in walking through a parking lot of a popular shopping center or a street in a metropolitan area to observe vehicles whose passenger windows have been smashed and the audio system stolen. This is particularly prevalent where the vehicle has been provided with an expensive tuner-tape, disc player and/or equalizer system which is dashboard mounted.
It is not uncommon for the owner of a vehicle to install audio components in the dashboard of a vehicle whose cost may rnage from $500 to several thousand dollars. Such components are installed by an owner for purposes of personal enjoyment and seemingly, once installed, render the vehicle an attractive target for both professional thieves and amateurs. The problem of theft of audio components from vehicles has become so intense that loss of a radio or other audio component from a vehicle has become a common experience. As a result, owners of vehicles who contemplate the installation of a quality audio system often feel compelled to install expensive alarm systems or alternatively are forced to forego the pleasure derived from such a quality audio system.
In fact, it is not uncommon in strolling through a parking area to observe vehicles on which a notice is prominently displayed stating that there is no radio in the vehicle. This is done since theft of audio components from vehicles has become so widespread that thieves are often indiscriminate. The problem has become so severe that when one goes to an after market supplier to install a new radio or other audio system in a vehicle, the person is often advised that such system should not be mounted in too secure a manner since if an attempt is made to steal the same a thief finding the component is not readily removable will do so much damage to the dashboard of the vehicle as to make the cost of repair impractical.
Many techniques have been developed in attempts to alleviate this problem. Thus, certain maunfacturers make cover plates whose purpose is to disguise the radio or other audio component installed in a dashboard so as to indicate that no radio is present or at least give the impression to a casual observer that a very inexpensive model has been installed. These techniques generally fail since on close inspection through the window of the vehicle the nature of the cover plate is readily discernible. In addition many thieves are indiscriminate as to the nature of the audio component present. Alarm systems have been developed by the manufacturers and are frequently available as original equipment from automobile manufacturers. However, only very expensive models of alarm systems in fact detect breakage of a window through which the thief typically gains access to the audio component and in addition alarm systems have not generally proved highly satisfactory since a thief who breaks a window and reaches in to steal a dash-mounted audio component can frequently accomplish his objective in such a short time that the sounding of an alarm for a short period is of little concern.
More sophisticated approaches to preventing theft of audio components from vehicles have taken the form of the development of the so-called anti-theft radio, techniques where the majority of the audio components are in fact trunk mounted and only remotely controlled from the dashboard and audio components which are portably mounted in the vehicle and removable by the owner when the vehicle is at risk. The so-called anti-theft radio, as developed for instance by Alpine, includes a device which prevents the audio component from ever operating again, once power is removed, unless an appropriate code is first entered on the selection keys of the audio component when the same is reinstalled in a vehicle. This approach is currently employed on BMW's sold in the United States; however, the approach is disadvantageous in two respects. The first is that while the radio may not be successfully reinstalled by an amateur thief without the appropriate combination, this in no way changes the fact that the owner of the vehicle has lost a radio due to theft and must go through the costly procedure of replacing the same. Furthermore, a knowledgeable thief can readily avoid the anti-theft technique being employed by pulling out the radio and connecting a small battery thereto prior to its disconnection from the power source in the vehicle.
Similarly, trunk mounting techniques are not wholly sucessful since the audio components operating in this manner are quite expensive, dash mounted control units therefor are often stolen where the thief is under the impression that a complete audio component is being taken and, in any event, damage is incurred due to the thief's penetration of the vehicle prior to discovery that only a remote control unit is involved. Finally, such units telegraph the fact that the rest of the audio components are in the trunk of the vehicle and frequently cause the thief to break into this section of the vehicle as well.
In fact, the most successful attempts at preventing theft of audio components from cars has been the development of portable units. This has been done, for example by Soundstream Corporation and Sony Corporation and effectively provide for a dash-mounted radio or tuner-tape deck and amplifier component which can easily be removed by the owner of the vehicle when the vehicle is parked and left at a location where the same is at risk. When the audio component is removed from the dashboard a gaping hole is left making it apparent to a casual observer that breaking into the vehicle for purposes of stealing the audio component would be pointless. While the technique of providing a portable mounted audio component is effective, the same is generally available only from specific manufacturers of audio components and hence is not of general application. Thus, vehicle owners wishing to avail themselves of this technique must purchase the components provided by these manufacturers and are often faced with the prospect that the mounting configuration provided is not suitable for the vehicle owned.
Therefore it is a principal object of the present invention to provide improved anti-theft mounting apparatus.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide anti-theft mounting apparatus specifically configured to accommodate any of the large number of dashmounted audio components provided by both after market and original equipment manufacturers.
A further object of the present invention is to provide anti-theft mounting apparatus specially configured to mount in any of a large number of dash-mounting facilities provided by vehicle manufacturers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide anti-theft mounting apparatus for vehicles which involves both audio component mounting members and dashboard mounting members and enables a user thereof to achieve a specially configured mounting arrangement by merely specifying the type of vehicle involved and the audio component to be used therewith.
Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in conjunction with the claims appended hereto.